Scaffolding-clamp.



L. scoTELLARo SGAFFOLDING CLAMP. APPLIUATION FILED AUG. 15, 1908.

' Ptenl'fed Mar. 7, 1911.

Nfmesses. Y. \nvenbm c.

LUIGI SCOTELLARO, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

SCAFFOLDING-CLAMP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed August 15, 1908.

Patented Mar. '7, 1911.

serial no. 448,757.

To all whom 'it may concern.:

Be it known that I, LUIGI Soo'rELLAno, a subject of the King of Italy, residing in the city of New York, in the county of New York, in the State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Scaffolding-Clamps, of which the. following is a specification.

My invention relates to a clamping device whereby ledgers, which support the putlogs on which the scafford flooring rests, may be securely attached to the uprights or vertical posts.

It has for its object the production of a device that may be readily attached to an upright at any desired point and without the use of nails, screws, doweling pins or other like means, and whichwill grip the upright with constantly increasing power as the load placed thereon increases, and of such adaptability that it may be .instantly adjusted to various size uprights, and supporteither a single ledger or two ledgers, either overlapping, or running at right angles to, each other, as often happens in staging. I attain these objects by means of a device illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a perspective view of my device: Fig. 2 is a perspective view of my de-v vice as it appears when attached to an upright and supporting a ledger: Fig. 3 a perspective view of an attachment to my device for use thereon when the scaifolding to be supported thereby is to turn a corner: and Fig. 4 a perspective view of my device, with said attachment affixed thereto, as it appears when attached to an upright and supporting two ledgers at right angles toeach other at the corner of a scaffolding.

Similar parts in the various drawings are represented by the same numerals.

My device comprises a transverse gripping bar 1 having teeth 2 and a cross section preferably possessing a major and minor axis from opposite ends of which are suspended similarly shapedside members A B having forwardly downward extensions 3, horizontally forward extensions 4, and upward extensions 5, one of which A is preferably rigidly attached to said bar and the other of which B is slidable lengthwise thereon. A plurality of holes 6 in said gripping bar and a pin 7 adapted to enter the same furnish a convenient means for preventing the side members from spreading apart after once having been set for a certain width of upright.

.For purpose of giving rigidity to my device and also for purpose of causing the upward ,extensions of the side members to hang sufficiently far forward of the upright to which it may be attached to allow ample room for the insertion of a ledger between said upward extensions and said upright, a binding rod 8 is preferably attached at right angles to the horizontal extension of the side member A, and a hole registering therewith is provided in the other side member B whereby the lattermay slide thereon the same as on the transverse gripping bar. Said rod is termed a binding rod for the reason that when the device, as hereinafter explained, is supporting a single ledger the weight thereof and the load carried thereby will force the rod against the upright and cause a bind'between it and the transverse gripping member. It is obvious, however, that such a rod is not absolutely essential to my device, either for purposes of rigidity, as a stop, or as a binding member. A ledger once inserted, in the absence of such arod, would itself become a binding member, and when two ledgers are inserted they raise said rod free of the upright and they themselves become the binding member.

The method of att-aching the device to an upright C and the manner in which it supports a ledger D, may be explained and illustrated by reference to Fig. 2. The staging erector, assuming that he has raised hisnprights and is about to attach the device thereto preparatory to running his line of ledgers, first opens the device by withdrawing pin 7 and slipping side member B olf of transverse gripping bar l and binding rod 8. He then places the inner flat face of side member A against the side of the upright at the height desired with the transverse gripping bar l and transverse binding rod 8 on opposite sides ofthe upright, and slips side member B thereon, reinserts pin 7 in the hole nearest the upright, and finally drives the teeth 2 of the gripping bar into the face of the upright by one or more blows of a hammer or Sledge. The weight o-f the device will cause it to swing downward until binding rod 8 strikes the opposite face of the upright. Said rod, by reason of its forward location in the horizontal extensions 4, will hold the upward extensions Vledger edgewise between said upward eXtensons and the upright and rests it upon horizontal extensions t. The ledger thus placed will furnish the support for one end of the j putlogs, the other ends of which will be supported in the wall in process of erection. A load placed upon the ledger will cause a force downward, which resolved into its component forces will not only cause the device to tend to revolve around a center represented by a transverse line passing through the points of the teeth 2 of transverse gripping bar l as a fulcrum and thus force binding bar 8 against the upright, thereby causing the device to bind the opposite faces of the upright with great force, but will also cause a downward pull in the direction of a line drawn through the point of the embedded teeth and the center of the binding rod and thus cause the teeth to sink deeper into the upright, thereby giving an additional feature of safety vagainst any possible slipping of the device. It is obvious that the heavier the load placed on the ledger the more firmly will the device hug the upright and the deeper will its teeth be buried therein.

In the usual staging construction a ledger is supported at its two ends and also in its center.. Every other upright, therefore, is required to support the overlapping ends of two ledgers. The horizontal extension of the side members of my device is of vsuiiicient length to permit two ledgers to rest thereon and their overlapping ends may be supported thereon by simply swinging the device suihciently far forward to permit the insertion of said twol ledgers between the upward extensions of said device and the upright. In vsuch a case the binding rod 8 will be lifted clear of the upright and the bind will be between the lower inner edge of the inner ledger and the toothed transverse member.

In the turning of corners the usual staging construction requires that the corner upright shall support the corresponding ends of two ledgers arranged at right angles to each other. For the purpose of providing means whereby my device may meet this require-ment I employ what may be termed a corner attachment E, illustrated in peri spective in Fig. 3. It comprises a horizontal extension or base 9 and an upward eX- tension 10 which correspond wlth elements Al and 5 respectively of the device as shown in Fig. 1, and also two downward projected lugs 11 l2 whereby it may be slipped on to the narrow edge of either side members land by reason of a slot 1'3 in the forward lug made to str-addle the tie rod `8 as shown in Fig. 4.

My device as used on a corner upright, supporting two ledgers arranged at right angles to each other, is illustrated in Fig. 4; in which E represents the corner attachment, and D D the two ledgers supported at right angles to each other.

It is apparent from the foregoing .description and drawings accompanying the same that my device is adapted for use upon various sized uprights and for the support of either one or two ledgers, and, if the latter, either when overlapping or at right angles to each other.

Having thus described my invention, what l, claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. Ascaifolding clamp consisting of a pair of side members formed hook shape by being successively extended forwardly downward, horizontally forward, and upward, and two transverse members projecting at right angles from one of said side members, and passing through holes registering therewith in said other side member, whereby the latter may be moved thereon toward or away from the former, said transverse members being so located that they will fall on opposite sides of the upright to which the device may be -attached and the upper one of which has sharp projections on its inner edge and is non-rotatable in either side member.

2. Ascaft'olding clamp consisting of a pair of side members formed hook shape by being successively extended forwardly downward, horizontally forward, and upward; two transverse members projecting at right angles from one of said side members and passing through holes registering therewith in said other side member, whereby the latter may be moved thereon toward oraway from the former and means for locking vsaid slidable side member against outward movement, said transverse members being so located that they will fall on opposite sides of v,the upright to which the device may be attached and the upper one having sharp projections on it-s. inner edge and being nonrotatable in either side member.

3. A scaffolding clamp consisting of a pair of side members formed hook-shape by being successively extended forwardly downward, horizontally forward, and upward; two transverse members, one of which has adjustment holes, projecting at right angles from one of said side members and passing through holes registering therewith in said other side member, whereby the latter may be moved thereon toward or away from the former; and a pin adapted for insertion in either of said adjustment holes for locking the siidable side member against outward movement, said transverse members being so located that they will fall on opposite sides of the upright to which the device may be attached and the upper one of which has LELO sharp projections on its inner edge and is non-rotatable in either side member.

4:. A scaffolding clamp consisting of a toothed transverse member and dependent side members, extending successively forwardly downward, horizontally forward, and upward, non-rotatably attached thereto, one of said side members having a suocessively horizontally outward and upward extension on its outer side.

5. A scaffolding clamp consisting of a toothed transverse member; dependent side members, extending successively forwardly downward, horizontally forward, and upward, nonsrotatably attached to said transverse member and adjustable toward or away from each other, one of said side members having a successively horizontally outward and upward extension on its outer side; and means for locking said side members against spreading apart after being located at any desired distance from each other.

6. A scaffolding clamp consisting of a toothed transverse member; dependent side members, extending successively forwardly downward, horizontally forward, and up ward, non-rotatably attached to, and one of which is slidable lengthwise of, said transverse member; adjustment holes in said transverse member; a pin adapted to enter either of said adjustment holes and thereby lock said slidable side member against outward movement; and a. projection on the outer side of one of said side members extending successively horizontally outward and upward.

7. A scaffolding clamp consisting of a toothed transverse member; dependent side members extending successively forwardly downward, horizontally forward, and upward, non-rotatably attached to said transverse member; a binding transverse member supported by said dependent side members and so located in relation to said toothed transverse member that as the device is attached to an upright said transverse members will rest against the opposite faces thereof; and a projection on the outer side of one of said dependent side members extending successively horizontally outward and upward.

8. A scaifolding clamp consisting of a toothed transverse member; dependent side members, extending successively forwardly downward, horizontally forward, and upward, non-rotatably attached to said transverse member; and a right angled member, having a horizontally outward and then upward extension, removably attached to one of said side members.

9. A scaffolding clamp consisting of a toothed transverse member; dependent side members non-rotatably attached to said transverse member and extending successively forwardly downward, horizontally forward, and upward; a binding transverse member supported by the horizontal extension of said side members; and a right angled member having a horizontally outward and then upward extension removably attached to one of said side members.

j l0. A scaffolding clamp consisting of a toothed transverse member; dependent side members non-rotatably attached to said transverseA member and extending successively forwardly downward, horizontally forward, and upward; a binding transverse member supported by the horizontal extensions of said side members; and aright angle member having a horizontally outward and then upward extension and downwardly extended lugs, resting on and straddling the horizont-al extension of one of said side members.

l1. In combination, a scaffolding upright; a toothed transverse member attached by means of its teeth to one side of said upright; dependent side members extending successively forwardly downward, horizontally forward, and upward, non-rotatably attached to said transverse member, one of which has a successively horizontally outward and upward extension projecting from its outer side; and two ledgers at right angles to each other, one resting on the horizontally forward extension of said side members and the other resting on the horizontally outward extension of said side l member.

LUIGI SCOTELLARO.

Attest:

MARY L. SMITH,

FREDERICK E. FULLER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

